Veterinary Medicine Commons^™

Defining An Epidemiological Landscape That Connects Movement Ecology To Pathogen Transmission And Pace-Of-Life, Kezia Manlove, Mark Wilber, Lauren White, Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, Anni Yang, Marie L.J. Gilbertson, Meggan E. Craft, Paul C. Cross, George Wittemyer, Kim M. Pepin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Pathogen transmission depends on host density, mobility and contact. These components emerge from host and pathogen movements that themselves arise through interactions with the surrounding environment. The environment, the emergent host and pathogen movements, and the subsequent patterns of density, mobility and contact form an ‘epidemiological landscape’ connecting the environment to specific locations where transmissions occur. Conventionally, the epidemiological landscape has been described in terms of the geographical coordinates where hosts or pathogens are located. We advocate for an alternative approach that relates those locations to attributes of the local environment. Environmental descriptions can strengthen epidemiological forecasts by allowing for …

Optimising Response To An Introduction Of African Swine Fever In Wild Pigs, Kim M. Pepin, Vienna R. Brown, Anni Yang, James C. Beasley, Raoul Boughton, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Ryan S. Miller, Sarah N. Bevins

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

African swine fever virus (ASFv) is a virulent pathogen that threatens domestic swine industries globally and persists in wild boar populations in some countries. Persistence in wild boar can challenge elimination and prevent disease-free status, making it necessary to address wild swine in proactive response plans. In the United States, invasive wild pigs are abundant and found across a wide range of ecological conditions that could drive different epidemiological dynamics among populations. Information on the size of the control areas required to rapidly eliminate the ASFv in wild pigs and how this area should change with management constraints and local …

Amplification Of Black Vulture (Coragyps Atratus) Dna From Regurgitated Food Pellets, Daniel R. Taylor, Bryan M. Kluever, John S. Humphrey, Iona M. Hennessy, Amber Sutton, William E. Bruce, Antoinette J. Piaggio

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Studies that rely on noninvasive collection of DNA for birds often use feces or feathers. Some birds, such as vultures, regurgitate undigested matter in the form of pellets that are commonly found under roost sites. Our research demonstrates that regurgitated pellets are a viable, noninvasive source of DNA for molecular ecology studies of vultures. Our objectives were to amplify 5 microsatellite loci designed for distinguishing Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) and Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus) in a single, multiplexed PCR, and to determine how long the target nuclear DNA persists after a vulture pellet is regurgitated and …

Evaluation Of Residual Antibacterial Effects On Canine Skin Surface And Hairs Following Treatment With Five Commercial Mousse Products Against Staphylococcus Pseudintermedius In Vitro, Chi-Yen Wu

LSU Master's Theses

Topical products are essential treatments for canine superficial bacterial folliculitis. However, studies for commercial products typically evaluate antibacterial effects on hairs rather than the skin surface. In addition, the interference from the hair length has not been evaluated in these studies. Therefore, the study objective for this study was to evaluate the residual antibacterial effects of five mousse products, (1) 2% chlorhexidine and 2% miconazole, (2) 0.05% phytosphingosine, (3) 2% salicylic acid and 10% ethyl lactate, (4) 3% chlorhexidine and 0.5% climbazole, and (5) 2% chlorhexidine and 1% ketoconazole on both the skin surface and hairs in both short- and …

Seasonal Climatic Niche And Migration Movements Of Double-Crested Cormorants, D. Tommy King, Guiming Wang, Fred L. Cunningham

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Avian migrants are challenged by seasonal adverse climatic conditions and energetic costs of long-distance flying. Migratory birds may track or switch seasonal climatic niche between the breeding and non-breeding grounds. Satellite tracking enables avian ecologists to investigate seasonal climatic niche and circannual movement patterns of migratory birds. The Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum, hereafter cormorant) wintering in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) migrates to the Northern Great Plains and Great Lakes and is of economic importance because of its impacts on aquaculture. We tested the climatic niche switching hypothesis that cormorants would switch climatic niche between summer and winter …

Solar Radiation And Soil Moisture Drive Tropical Forest Understory Responses To Experimental And Natural Hurricanes, J. Aaron Hogan, Joanne M. Sharpe, Ashley Van Beusekom, Sarah Stankavich, Samuel Matta Carmona, John E. Bithorn, Jamarys Torres-Díaz, Grizelle González, Jess K. Zimmerman, Aaron B. Shiels

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Tropical forest understory regeneration occurs rapidly after disturbance with compositional trajectories that depend on species availability and environmental conditions. To predict future tropical forest regeneration dynamics, we need a deeper understanding of how pulse disturbance events, like hurricanes, interact with environmental variability to affect understory demography and composition. We examined fern and sapling mortality, recruitment, and community composition in relation to solar radiation and soil moisture using 17 years of forest dynamics data (2003–2019) from the Canopy Trimming Experiment in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. Solar radiation increased 150% and soil moisture increased 40% following canopy trimming of experimental …

Comparative Susceptibility Of Eastern Cottontails And New Zealand White Rabbits To Classical Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus (Rhdv) And Rhdv2, Fawzi Mohamed, Thomas Gidlewski, Mary L. Berninger, Heather M. Petrowski, Alexa J. Bracht, Carla Bravo De Rueda, Roger W. Barrette, Meredith Grady, Emily S. O'Hearn, Charles E. Lewis, Karen E. Moran, Tracy L. Sturgill, Lorenzo Capucci, J. Jeffrey Root

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) is associated with high morbidity and mortality in the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). In 2010, a genetically distinct RHDV named RHDV2 emerged in Europe and spread to many other regions, including North America in 2016. Prior to this study it was unknown if eastern cottontails (ECT(s); Sylvilagus floridanus), one of the most common wild lagomorphs in the United States, were susceptible to RHDV2. In this study, 10 wild-caught ECTs and 10 New Zealand white rabbits (NZWR(s); O. cuniculus) were each inoculated orally with either RHDV (RHDVa/GI.1a; n = 5 per species) or RHDV2 (a recombinant …

Genomic Tools Reveal Complex Social Organization Of An Invasive Large Mammal (Sus Scrofa), Chelsea L. Titus, Courtney F. Bowden, Timothy J. Smyser, Stephen L. Webb, James C. Beasley

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

A comprehensive understanding of sociality in wildlife is vital to optimizing conservation and management efforts. However, sociality is complicated, especially for widely distributed species that exhibit substantive behavioral plasticity. Invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa), often representing hybrids of European wild boar and domestic pigs, are among the most adaptable and widely distributed large mammals. The social structure of wild pigs is believed to be similar to European wild boar, consisting of matriarchal groups (sounders) and solitary males. However, wild pig social structure is understudied and largely limited to visual observations. Using a hierarchical approach, we incorporated genomic tools …

Seasonal Variation And Tracking Of Climate Niche Of A Migratory Bird, Javier Gutiérrez Illán, Guiming Wang, D. Tommy King, Fred L. Cunningham

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Migratory birds inhabit different areas during breeding and non-breeding seasons. Depending on the time of the year, they may utilize different resources available in seasonal habitats, but also are subjected to changing climate regimes during their annual life cycle. Migratory birds may adopt ecological niche tracking to cope with different environmental conditions between breeding and non-breeding grounds. The American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, hereafter ‘AWPE’) is a short-distance migrant between the Gulf of Mexico coastal regions (nonbreeding grounds) and the Northern Great Plains (breeding grounds) of Canada and the US. The American White Pelican is a piscivore, feeding …

Relative Palatability And Efficacy Of Brodifacoum-25d Conservation Rodenticide Pellets For Mouse Eradication On Midway Atoll, Peter J. Kappes, Shane R. Siers, Israel L. Leinbach, Robert T. Sugihara, Wesley J. Jolley, Jonathan H. Plissner, Elizabeth N. Flint, Kelly L. Goodale, Gregg R. Howald

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive mice (Mus spp.) can negatively impact island species and ecosystems. Because fewer island rodent eradications have been attempted for mice compared to rats (Rattus spp.), less is known about efficacy and palatability of rodenticide baits for mouse eradications. We performed a series of bait acceptance and efficacy cage trials using a standard formulation of brodifacoum-based rodenticide on wild-caught mice from Sand Island, Midway Atoll, to help inform a proposed eradication there. Mice were offered ad libitum brodifacoum pellets along with various alternative food sources, and a “no choice” treatment group received only bait pellets. Mortality in the no choice …

Intercontinental Movement Of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5n1) Clade 2.3.4.4 Virus To The United States, 2021, Sarah N. Bevins, Susan A. Shriner, James C. Cumbee Jr., Krista E. Dilione, Kelly E. Douglass, Jeremy W. Ellis, Mary Lea Killian, Mia K. Torchetti, Julianna B. Lenoch

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We detected Eurasian-origin highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus belonging to the Gs/GD lineage, clade 2.3.4.4b, in wild waterfowl in 2 Atlantic coastal states in the United States. Bird banding data showed widespread movement of waterfowl within the Atlantic Flyway and between neighboring flyways and northern breeding grounds.

What Is The Prevalence Of Dirofilaria Immitis (Dog Heartworm) In Invasive Aedes Mosquitoes?, Leen Yousef, Johan Espinoza Corrales, Daniela H. Dolar, Taylor K. Trieu, Aisha Popalzai, Agamchat Dhami

Pacific Undergraduate Research and Creativity Conference (PURCC)

No abstract provided.

Individual Trophic Niche Specialization In American Beaver (Castor Canadensis), Jimmy Taylor, Robert Francis, Scott Rush, Bronson Strickland, Guiming Wang

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The American beaver (Castor canadensis) has been described as a choosy generalist at the species/population scale, yet observational studies have shown little variation in diet among individuals. We compared isotopic values of δ¹³C or δ¹⁵N taken from hair of 32 beaver, representing seven colonies in northern Alabama, USA to determine 1) if colonies of beaver show overlap in isotopic niche width as a result of the similar use of food resources and 2) if individual trophic niche specialization occurs within colonies. Total Trophic Niche Width varied across the wetland with the widest being twice …

Editorial: Special Issue “Innovative Techniques And Approaches In The Control And Prevention Of Rabies Virus”, Amy T. Gilbert, Ryan M. Wallace, Charles E. Rupprecht

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rabies is an ancient lethal scourge that has plagued humankind for centuries. Globally, 60,000 human deaths are estimated to occur each year from rabies virus (RABV) transmission in domestic dogs, mostly affecting children. While rabies is recognized as a neglected disease, there is cause for optimism in the context of growing global recognition, collaboration and commitment to advance a tripartite agenda to eliminate human deaths transmitted from rabid dogs by 2030, also known as “Zero By Thirty” (ZBT). Nevertheless, the ZBT goal must also confront competing challenge(s) of tracking and mitigating human morbidity and mortality during a global pandemic caused …

Can We Use Antipredator Behavior Theory To Predict Wildlife Responses To High-Speed Vehicles?, Ryan B. Lunn, Bradley Blackwell, Travis L. Devault, Esteban Fernández-Juricic

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Animals seem to rely on antipredator behavior to avoid vehicle collisions. There is an extensive body of antipredator behavior theory that have been used to predict the distance/time animals should escape from predators. These models have also been used to guide empirical research on escape behavior from vehicles. However, little is known as to whether antipredator behavior models are appropriate to apply to an approaching high-speed vehicle scenario. We addressed this gap by (a) providing an overview of the main hypotheses and predictions of different antipredator behavior models via a literature review, (b) exploring whether these models can generate quantitative …

Antibody Dependent Enhancement Of Infectious Bronchitis Virus In Poultry, Zachary Hamilton, Barry Simpson, Donald L. Reynolds

UCARE: Research Products

Avian infectious bronchitis (IB) is a coronavirus infection of chickens that causes respiratory disease and reproductive problems in chickens. Currently, there are vaccines that are effective against IB. However, new variants and strains of avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) routinely emerge. A vaccine that is not the same strain as the virus is not completely effective in protecting against other variants because the vaccine will not allow the host antibodies to completely neutralize the strain. This is a problem because it makes IB difficult to control and diagnose.

Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) is a phenomenon whereby non-neutralizing antibodies, or low levels …

Evaluation Of Protective Efficacy Of Viral Vector Based Swine Influenza Vaccine And A Method For B Cell Culture For Monoclonal Antibody Generation, Sushmita Kumari

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Influenza A virus of the swine (IAV-S) is an economically important swine pathogen that has the potential to spread to humans, thus posing an ongoing public health concern due to its zoonotic potential. Hemagglutinin (HA), the most abundant viral envelope protein, is known to be the key protective antigen. Anti-HA antibodies alone, have been shown to prevent IAV infection. In this study we evaluated the feasibility of a recombinant tri segmented Pichinde virus (PICV) as a viral vector to deliver IAV-S hemagglutinin antigen in pigs. Four groups of weaned pigs (T01-04) were immunized twice with PBS, rPICV-GFP as a vector …

European Starling Use Of Nest Boxes Relative To Human Disturbance, Bradley Blackwell, Bruce N. Buckingham, Morgan B. Pfeiffer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

gars and to engine and flight surfaces of moored aircraft. We questioned whether consistent removal of nest material would negatively affect use of a nest site, measured by a reduction in material accumulation. We conducted our study on a 2,200-ha site in Erie County, Ohio, USA (41° 22’ N, 82° 41’ W), from April 15 through June 2, 2020. We used 120 wooden nest boxes on utility poles, protected by an aluminum predator guard below the box. Our treatments included (1) twice weekly, repeated nest material removal (RMR; n = 40 nest boxes); (2) complete nest removal, but only after …

Understanding Continent-Wide Variation In Vulture Ranging Behavior To Assess Feasibility Of Vulture Safe Zones In Africa: Challenges And Possibilities, Adam Kane, Ara Monadjem, H. K.Ortwin Aschenborn, Keith Bildstein, André Botha, Claire Bracebridge, Evan R. Buechley, Ralph Buij, John P. Davies, Maria Diekmann, Colleen T. Downs, Nina Farwig, Toby Galligan, Gregory Kaltenecker, Chris Kelly, Ryno Kemp, Holger Kolberg, Monique L. Mackenzie, John Mendelsohn, Msafiri Mgumba, Ran Nathan, Aaron Nicholas, Darcy Ogada, Morgan Pfeiffer, W. Louis Phipps, Matteuns D. Pretorius, Sascha Rösner, Dana G. Schabo, Gabriel Lita Shatumbu, Orr Spiegel, Lindy J. Thompson, Jan A. Venter, Munir Virani, Kerri Wolter, Corinne J. Kendall

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Protected areas are intended as tools in reducing threats to wildlife and preserving habitat for their long-term population persistence. Studies on ranging behavior provide insight into the utility of protected areas. Vultures are one of the fastest declining groups of birds globally and are popular subjects for telemetry studies, but continent-wide studies are lacking. To address how vultures use space and identify the areas and location of possible vulture safe zones, we assess home range size and their overlap with protected areas by species, age, breeding status, season, and region using a large continent-wide telemetry datasets that includes 163 individuals …

Economic Consequences Of The Wolf Comeback In The Western United States, Dana Hoag, Stewart W. Breck, Kevin Crooks, Becky Niemiec

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Gray wolves were eradicated from most of the United States in the 1940’s but have made a comeback in parts of their historic range over the last two decades. First reintroduced into the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and central Idaho in the mid-1990’s, wolves have subsequently dispersed into at least 7 western states. Coloradoans became the latest state to take interest in bolstering wolf populations, as residents passed a ballot initiative in November 2020 to reintroduce a self-sustaining population of gray wolves by the end of 2023. Conflicts between people in rural areas that might incur costs (such as livestock loss) …

A Review Of The Impacts Of Invasive Wild Pigs On Native Vertebrates, Matthew T. Mcdonough, Stephen S. Ditchkoff, Mark D. Smith, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The wild pig (Sus scrofa) is a successful invasive species that has become well established outside of its native range in Eurasia. The invasive wild pig is the result of released or escaped domesticated livestock becoming feral, or Eurasian boar introduced for hunting purposes. The global spread of wild pigs has recently been exacerbated in some areas, such as the USA, by anthropogenically assisted dispersal. Once established in novel ecosystems, wild pigs have the potential to have significant negative impacts on the ecosystem, and the scientific literature is replete with examples. It is generally accepted that wild pigs …

Use Of A Direct, Rapid Immunohistochemical Test For Diagnosis Of Rabies Virus In Bats, Charles E. Rupprecht, Lolita Van Pelt, April D. Davis, Richard B. Chipman, David L. Bergman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rabies, a zoonotic encephalitis due to transmission of a lyssavirus, such as rabies virus (RABV), has the highest case fatality of any infectious disease. A global program for the elimination of human rabies caused by dogs is proposed for realization by 2030. Sensitive, specific, and inexpensive diagnostic tests are necessary for enhanced surveillance to detect infection, inform public health and veterinary professionals during risk assessments of exposure, and support overall programmatic goals. Multiple laboratory techniques are used to confirm a suspect case of rabies. One method for the detection of lyssavirus antigens within the brain is the direct rapid immunohistochemical …

Optimizing Management Of Invasions In An Uncertain World Using Dynamic Spatial Models, Kim M. Pepin, Amy J. Davis, Rebecca S. Epanchin-Niell, Andrew M. Gormley, Joslin L. Moore, Timothy J. Smyser, H. Bradley Shaffer, William L. Kendall, Katriona Shea, Michael C. Runge, Sophie Mckee

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Dispersal drives invasion dynamics of nonnative species and pathogens. Applying knowledge of dispersal to optimize the management of invasions can mean the difference between a failed and a successful control program and dramatically improve the return on investment of control efforts. A common approach to identifying optimal management solutions for invasions is to optimize dynamic spatial models that incorporate dispersal. Optimizing these spatial models can be very challenging because the interaction of time, space, and uncertainty rapidly amplifies the number of dimensions being considered. Addressing such problems requires advances in and the integration of techniques from multiple fields, including ecology, …

An Efficient Method Of Evaluating Multiple Concurrent Management Actions On Invasive Populations, Amy J. Davis, Randy Farrar, Brad Jump, Parker Hall, Travis Guerrant, Kim M. Pepin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Evaluating the efficacy of management actions to control invasive species is crucial for maintaining funding and to provide feedback for the continual improvement of management efforts. However, it is often difficult to assess the efficacy of control methods due to limited resources for monitoring. Managers may view effort on monitoring as effort taken away from performing management actions. We developed a method to estimate invasive species abundance, evaluate management effectiveness, and evaluate population growth over time from a combination of removal activities (e.g., trapping, ground shooting) using only data collected during removal efforts (method of removal, date, location, number of …

Economics Of Cormorant Predation On Catfish Farms, Carole Engle, Ganesh Kumar, Terrel Christie, Brian S. Dorr, Brian Davis, Luke Roy, Anita Kelly

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The Double-crested Cormorant is the primary avian predator on catfish farms causing significant economic losses primarily due to 1) on-farm expenditures related to bird-management activities and 2) value of the catfish lost to cormorants. This comprehensive economic study quantified these two economic effects by surveying catfish farms in the delta regions of Mississippi and Arkansas. On-farm expenditures for bird scaring were used to quantify bird-management costs. Economic losses from fish consumed by cormorants were quantified by evaluating data from field studies of the abundance, distribution, and diet of cormorants in the Mississippi delta. This study found that catfish farmers …

Clinical Outcomes Of Immunomodulatory Therapies In The Management Of Covid-19: A Tertiary-Care Experience From Pakistan, Noreen Nasir, Salma Tajuddin, Sarah Khaskheli, Naveera Khan, Hammad Niamatullah, Nosheen Nasir

Section of Internal Medicine

The pharmacological management of COVID-19 has evolved significantly and various immunomodulatory agents have been repurposed. However, the clinical efficacy has been variable and a search for cure for COVID-19 continues. A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 916 patients hospitalized with polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed COVID-19 between February 2020 and October 2020 at a tertiary care academic medical center in Karachi, Pakistan. The median age was 57 years (interquartile range (IQR) 46–66 years). The most common medications administered were Methylprednisolone (65.83%), Azithromycin (50.66%), and Dexamethasone (46.6%). Majority of the patients (70%) had at least two or more medications used in …

Emerging Respiratory Viral Pathogens, April Nelsen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Respiratory disease is arguably the most important health concern for the production animal industry [1-3]. Respiratory problems accounted for the highest mortality both in the swine and beef industries [1, 4]. Respiratory pathogens remain the most vital for swine and bovine research and disease monitoring [2, 5-7]. As pathogens, in particular viral pathogens, mutate, novel disease-causing viruses emerge, and there becomes an increasing concern and need for identification with control perimeters. One frequently identified disease syndrome is Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex (PRDC). PRDC is characterized by pneumonia of mixed respiratory infections with contributions from the environment and management practices. The …

An Examination Of Ethical Attitudes Towards Wild Pig (Sus Scrofa) Toxicants In The United States, Keith Carlisle, Erin E. Harper, Stephanie A. Shwiff

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

This research aims to understand ethical attitudes of the U.S. public towards the use of a toxicant to control wild pigs (Sus scrofa), a destructive invasive species whose population growth is proving difficult to control through conventional management methods. Using a nationwide self-administered survey with 2,186 completed and returned questionnaires, we found that among six different lethal control methods, toxicant usage was the only method that a majority of respondents (51%) found to be unethical, with no significant differences between rural and urban respondents or between respondents from counties with wild pigs and counties where the species is absent. The …

Frugivory And Seed Dispersal By Carnivorans, John P. Draper, Julie K. Young, Eugene W. Schupp, Noelle G. Beckman, Trisha B. Atwood

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Seed dispersal is critical to the ecological performance of sexually reproducing plant species and the communities that they form. The Mammalian order Carnivora provide valuable and effective seed dispersal services but tend to be overlooked in much of the seed dispersal literature. Here we review the literature on the role of Carnivorans in seed dispersal, with a literature search in the Scopus reference database. Overall, we found that Carnivorans are prolific seed dispersers. Carnivorans’ diverse and plastic diets allow them to consume large volumes of over a hundred families of fruit and disperse large quantities of seeds across landscapes. Gut …

Aboveground Carbon Responses To Experimental And Natural Hurricane Impacts In A Subtropical Wet Forest In Puerto Rico, Hervé Chevalier, Nicholas V.L. Brokaw, Sheila E. Ward, Jess K. Zimmerman, Aaron B. Shiels, John Bithorn, Samuel Matta Carmona

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Climate change and disturbance make it difficult to project long-term patterns of carbon sequestration in tropical forests, but large ecosystem experiments in these forests can inform predictions. The Canopy Trimming Experiment (CTE) manipulates two key components of hurricane disturbance, canopy openness and detritus deposition, in a tropical forest in Puerto Rico. We documented how the CTE and a real hurricane affected tree recruitment, biomass, and aboveground carbon storage over 15 years. In the CTE treatments, we trimmed branches, but we did not fell trees. We expected that during the 14-year period after initial canopy trimming, regrowth of branches and stems …